The government contends Microsoft has used Windows, which is the dominant operating system for personal computers, to sideline its competitors, bully its partners and ultimately harm consumers.

The trial is likely to take on an increasingly combative tone. The software giant has subpoenaed David Colburn, a senior vice president at America Online, to take the stand Monday, where he will be grilled as a "hostile witness."

Antitrust expert William Kovacic, a professor at George Washington Law School, said the stakes are high for Microsoft.

With Colburn's direct testimony likely to take at least two days, "Monday and Tuesday are going to be about as important as any two days of the trial have been" for Microsoft," he said.

Microsoft maintains that AOL and Sun are well-positioned to develop platforms that will allow software makers to develop Internet-related products. These applications would allow users to utilize programs by devices other than personal computers, such as television set-top boxes or hand-held computers, which don't use Windows.

Microsoft seized on the AOL-Netscape deal as soon as it was announced last fall, unsuccessfully asking the government to dismiss its antitrust suit. The company then asked District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to allow it to depose AOL, Netscape and Sun officials and seek documents related to the merger for evidence.

The judge granted the motion, suggesting that the merger "might be a very significant change in the playing field."

Kovacic said the judge's comment represented a "very rare ray of light" from the bench for Microsoft.

Indeed, the judge has often shown exasperation with Microsoft lawyers during the rebuttal phase. In a private bench conference during Microsoft's cross-examination of IBM executive Garry Norris Wednesday, Jackson told Microsoft attorney Richard Pepperman, "I m not sure how much progress you have made so far, but we'll leave that aside," a transcript said.

And Thursday, Jackson interrupted a government attorney's questioning of Princeton University computer expert Edward Felten to inquire whether some consumers viewed browsers as a security threat.

The government contends Microsoft's decision to integrate its browser into Windows offers no consumer benefit and was done solely to undercut Netscape and other rival browser makers. Microsoft maintains consumers enjoy numerous technical advantages as a result of the integration.

"It seems self-evident to me that the presence of a browser increases the risk of penetration of a virus," Jackson said. See related story.

Defense strategy

Microsoft is expected to take a two-fold approach to its defense strategy. First, the firm will seek to show Jackson that the AOL-Netscape-Sun alliance has the potential to foster a powerful competitive threat, Kovacic said. Second, the firm will attempt to suggest that the government's earlier witnesses, such as Colburn, may have told the court a sob story that doesn't square with their own assessments of the competitive arena. See Colburn's previous direct testimony.

Indeed, court papers filed by Microsoft show that the company plans to question Colburn on the "completeness and candor" of his previous testimony. See Microsoft's trial site.

Over the past three weeks, the government presented three rebuttal witnesses to bolster its case against the software giant. The star witness appeared to be Norris, an IBM executive who led Big Blue's negotiations for Windows licensing agreements from 1995 to 1997.

In some of the most dramatic testimony of the trial, Norris provided in-depth details, including hand-written notes, of his dealings with Microsoft. During his tenure, Microsoft repeatedly used the price of Windows in an effort to get IBM to stop shipping competing software and to drop its own OS/2 operating system, Norris testified.

Discount pricing

Microsoft feels it poked significant holes in the testimony. Under cross examination, Norris acknowledged that the software giant never directly tied Windows licensing agreements to requests that IBM drop its operating system or stop shipping competing software.

Microsoft contends there is nothing untoward or unusual about a business firm offering discounts to other businesses who agree to promote its products. Even though IBM spurned Microsoft's partnership proposals, it still paid among the lowest prices in the industry for Windows, said Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray last week.

But the combative witness insisted that IBM, which never buckled to the alleged pressure tactics, has paid higher prices for Windows and has been frozen out of joint marketing and technical agreements enjoyed by rival computer makers that chose not to compete with Microsoft in the software arena. See related story.

David Boies, the special counsel spearheading the trial for the Justice Department and 19 states, said Norris' appearance was the highlight of the rebuttal phase for the government. See the government's antitrust trial site.

Meanwhile, Sun and Microsoft will square off directly in San Francisco Wednesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals regarding a preliminary injunction sought by Sun against some of Microsoft's Java-flavored products.

Last May, Sun sought to prevent Microsoft from selling several programs -- including its Web browser IE and Windows 98 -- because the Java wasn't up to standards set by Sun. Microsoft disputed the charge, but a U.S. District court granted a preliminary injunction against Microsoft in November.

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